Taika Waititi Pays Homage to Original STAR WARS Trilogy with ‘The Mandalorian’

When it comes to conventional film-making, the name Taika Waititi doesn’t immediately come to mind. This is, after all, the man who gave us the vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows. The New Zealand comedian and director also delivered Marvel’s uproariously funny Thor: Ragnarok. Fans were thus a bit skeptical to learn he’d be among the directors for The Mandalorian, the first, live action Star Wars series in history.

Unlike The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson, however, Taika Waititi seems to have more reverence for Star Wars lore. He’s not simply imposing his personal style or vision on the storied franchise. Instead, Waititi is taking a much more practical approach to his role in Star Wars (presumably whether behind, or in front of the camera).

Taika Waititi Pays Homage to Original Trilogy

Speaking to press recently (as Slash Film reports), Taika Waititi described his time working on The Mandalorian as an episode director:

They know that the tone of the first films really should be kind of adhered to. That’s what the fans like and you can’t really disrespect it, I guess is a nicer way of saying, ‘Can’t put too many jokes in.’ There’s a bit, definitely, my tone is in there, the dialogue and stuff like that.”

What Taika Waititi describes seems to be in perfect keeping with the original trilogy, in which comic relief was just that: comic relief from more serious undertones. The prequels departed significantly from the lessons of the original trilogy. (Jar Jar, anyone?) Conversely, the sequel trilogy began down the tonal path of the original films. Of course, that all went out the window with Episode VIII. It seems the latest Star Wars production will have a much more familiar feel.

The Mandalorian to Focus on Bounty Hunter Culture

The series, which follows a “lone gunslinger” through the Outer Rim, will focus on the grittier underworld of the bounty hunters:

For most kids growing up with those films, [Boba Fett] was one of the most favorite characters, even though he’s barely in the films,” Taika Waititi notes. “Just the idea of bounty hunters, the helmets are so cool. Just getting to see characters like that and getting to shoot with them is pretty cool.”

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The director also let slip a little secret. Apparently Jon Favreau’s show will feature a whole lot of Stormtroopers. “It was every kid’s dream just to see a Stormtrooper. When you’re doing these scenes with like 50 or 60 of them, it’s pretty amazing. I loved it.”

The Mandalorian debuts on Disney’s streaming service, Disney+, later this year.

Source: Slash Film